“And when the earth was thus deprived of Kshatriyas by the great Rishi,
the Kshatriya ladies all over the land had offspring raised by Brahmanas
skilled in the Vedas. It has been said in the Vedas that the sons so
raised belongeth to him that had married the mother. And the Kshatriya
ladies went in unto the Brahamanas not lustfully but from motives of
virtue. Indeed, it was thus that the Kshatriya race was revived.
“In this connection there is another old history that I will recite to
you. There was in olden days a wise Rishi of the name of Utathya. He had
a wife of the name Mamata whom he dearly loved. One day Utathya’s younger
brother Vrihaspati, the priest of the celestials, endued with great
energy, approached Mamata. The latter, however, told her husband’s
younger brother--that foremost of eloquent men--that she had conceived
from her connection with his elder brother and that, therefore, he should
not then seek for the consummation of his wishes. She continued, ‘O
illustrious Vrihaspati, the child that I have conceived hath studied in
his mother’s womb the Vedas with the six Angas, Semen tuum frustra perdi
non potest. How can then this womb of mine afford room for two children
at a time? Therefore, it behoveth thee not to seek for the consummation
of thy desire at such a time. Thus addressed by her, Vrihaspati, though
possessed of great wisdom, succeeded not in suppressing his desire. Quum
auten jam cum illa coiturus esset, the child in the womb then addressed
him and said, ‘O father, cease from thy attempt. There is no space here
for two. O illustrious one, the room is small. I have occupied it first.
Semen tuum perdi non potest. It behoveth thee not to afflict me.’ But
Vrihaspati without listening to what that child in the womb said, sought
the embraces of Mamata possessing the most beautiful pair of eyes. Ille
tamen Muni qui in venture erat punctum temporis quo humor vitalis jam
emissum iret providens, viam per quam semen intrare posset pedibus
obstruxit. Semen ita exhisum, excidit et in terram projectumest. And the
illustrious Vrihaspati, beholding this, became indignant, and reproached
Utathya’s child and cursed him, saying, ‘Because thou hast spoken to me
in the way thou hast at a time of pleasure that is sought after by all
creatures, perpetual darkness shall overtake thee.’ And from this curse
of the illustrious Vrishaspati Utathya’s child who was equal unto
Vrihaspati in energy, was born blind and came to be called Dirghatamas
(enveloped in perpetual darkness). And the wise Dirghatamas, possessed of
a knowledge of the Vedas, though born blind, succeeded yet by virtue of
his learning, in obtaining for a wife a young and handsome Brahmana
maiden of the name of Pradweshi. And having married her, the illustrious
Dirghatamas, for the expansion of Utathya’s race, begat upon her several
children with Gautama as their eldest. These children, however, were all
given to covetousness and folly. The virtuous and illustrious Dirghatamas